HOUSTON – It was a wonderful start to the holiday break for the University of North Texas at Dallas men's basketball team, pulling an upset over NCAA Division I Rice University on Thursday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. The Trailblazers outscored Rice 43-31 in the second half and got the final blow on three free throws from senior
Vernon Johnson (DeSoto, Texas) in the final seconds. His teammate
Ashton Howard (Cedar Hill, Texas) secured the crucial rebound on the other end after two missed free throws kept Rice from winning at the last moment.
Box Score
The game does not count statistically for UNT Dallas, who remain at 6-6 and 3-6 in conference play at the end of the 2024 portion of the campaign. The game does count for Rice, who moved to 8-4 overall and suffered its first setback at home in five outings.
It was a competitive game for the Trailblazers, playing second NCAA DI team on the year in an exhibition game. Having played UT Arlington after two regular season contests. While that game was also competitive, typically a smaller program will not be expected to be in a tight game, let alone threaten to lead in the late stages.
An early run by UNTD saw the guests snatch a 10-6 lead in the opening half. The Owls raced to a 28-18 lead behind a furious 15-2 run. The Trailblazers battled back late in the stanza to pull within six points but would fall behind 37-26 at intermission.
Down 15 points (44-29) early in the second half, the Trailblazers scored seven of its next 10 shots to nip the gap to 51-48. UNT Dallas eventually knotted the score at 61 with 3:43 minutes remaining. The Trailblazers hung tough answering late deficits with a key basket to force a tie game on two future occasions. Junior
Greg Crawford (Houston, Texas) made the first of two free throws to bring the Trailblazers within a point. A foul on Rice saw the home team also go one-of-two from the line and set the stage for a possible UNTD game-tying or go-ahead shot.
Johnson, a storied player in the five-year program, who is the all-time leading scorer with over 1,000 career points, would be the one to embrace the moment. Johnson drew a foul on a three-point shot and he was locked in at the charity stripe with all three shots to propel UNTD on top 69-68.
Plenty of drama ensued with seven seconds left. The Owls were aggressive and had Kellen Amos draw a shooting foul deep in the paint with two seconds left. He missed both free throws and Howard had the 30th and most crucial Trailblazer rebound. Howard did not extend the lead on the following two free throws but it did not matter as the last-second full-court heave from Rice was short and UNT Dallas succeeded with the stunner.
It was the first-ever NCAA DI win for UNT Dallas and while it was an exhibition, the players and school were showcased on ESPN+ and therefore were front and center on a national platform. Earlier in the year, UNT Dallas did collect a regular season win outside of conference against NCAA Division III transitioning to DII, UT Dallas.
On the year, UNT Dallas' victory over an NCAA DI opponent was the fourth this season.
"Extremely proud of the guys for believing in themselves and showing up to play against a top program," Head Coach
Josh Howard praised. "The players bought into the game plan and prepared to compete against a level of competition that is highly regarded. The team embraced the moment, and I am proud to see them enjoy this well-earned victory."
Crawford led all players on UNTD's side with 17 points. He was 13-for-16 at the free throw line and added five rebounds, three assists and steals. Johnson had 13 points and made all five free throws. A trio of Trailblazers gave the guests a double-digit scoring quintet. The trio featured all players with 11 points and included senior
Jayden Johnson-Blair (Dallas, Texas), and juniors
Jason Orta (Crandall, Texas) and
Sergio McClain (Peoria, Ill.).
A few other notable stats were UNTD went 20-for-25 at the free throw line and outrebounded Rice 20-16 in the second half. The Trailblazers also had positive gains in steals (8-2) and assists (12-10).
UNT Dallas closes the first part of the season on a positive note and will open the 2025 calendar year at Ellis Davis Field House for two contests. On January 4 at 4:00 p.m., the Trailblazers play Southwestern Christian and on Jan. 6 at 8:00 p.m. will be a rematch against Texas Wesleyan.
